Grosvenor Apartments

We only stayed one night, but it was good value and I’d certainly come back. The room was on the small side, though it was so clean and welcoming that I didn’t mind the tight space. Staff were perfectly polite, and breakfast was impressively organised, with a solid selection. They even had black pudding and haggis, covering the essentials.

Tom on reception at The Grosvenor was so warm and helpful, a real asset. My Mum and I had a lovely three-night stay in room 314. The family room was clean and roomy enough for us, with the fan we’d requested already there when we arrived, and a good-sized bathroom. The buffet breakfast in the restaurant was tasty and had a good range. We had dinner at Bo’Vine on our final night, which was nice, though there are lots of great places nearby. One evening we had a delicious Indian meal at Bantawala by Masala, and the staff there were so friendly. Thanks for a lovely stay.

The good location couldn’t make up for how bad this stay was. I had a broken foot and needed an accessible room so I could shower safely, but one wasn’t ready. After 17 hours of travel, we waited about 30 minutes to check in. They then tried to put us in an “accessible” room on the far side of the hotel from the elevator. Inside, a terrible banging and grinding noise came about every 60 seconds. It was the service elevator housekeeping used all day. We were there for work and expected to spend time in the room, so we asked for a different room without the noise. I can put some weight on my foot, so I ended up sitting sideways in the tub to shower, which wasn’t safe, but oh well. On the third day, a truly awful smell started coming from somewhere in the room, like something had died and was mildewing and decomposing. It gave me sinus pressure, and as I write this at the airport, my coat still smells of it. I asked the front desk for help. They said they’d send housekeeping to look, but after we went sightseeing, the bed had been made and the smell was still there. The next day it had got worse. My sinuses hurt and my clothes stank, so I asked again if someone could take a look. Housekeeping came and set up an ionizing machine. It helped, but didn’t stop the stench, and showed the smell was coming from the bathroom. I took apart the sink drain and found a dirty spoon stuck inside. I got it out with another spoon and a plastic knife, then called the front desk to report it and ask for maintenance. They apologized, but nobody came. I ran hot water and soap until the flow improved, and bought a £5 bottle of Febreze to try to get the smell out of our clothes and as much else as we could. That reduced it to about the intensity of a garbage dump in New Delhi. I suspect the spoon had been put there to fish out whatever had died in the pipes. We asked again for help or a different room, but checkout was due, so we slept with the windows open and accepted our fate. We paid over $1800 for what was the worst thing I’ve ever smelled, so the stay left a lot to be desired. I’d give the hotel negative stars if I could.

A great hotel in a really convenient location. The rooms are a little dated, but that was fine with us. The staff and service were amazing and really stood out. Hayley Baxter especially went above and beyond to get us some extra things we’d asked for.